NYC Grace
by AlexanderCastle
Summary: Mortal AU. New York City, modern day. A young detective, along with his team and a pretty young red-haired student, fight to protect the city they love while also simultaneously dealing with their own inner issues and relationships. Largely focuses on a cast of original characters, though several of the important characters from the series will make appearances in the future. OCxOC
1. My Saving Grace

**So here's something a little different. This is a series of interconnected one-shots that I've been working on, set in an AU version of the Percy Jackson universe and not focusing on any of the major characters (though they are still mentioned). This first chapter is a little different, but the flashback scene leads into the rest of the series (which will eventually catch up to where the characters are by this point). Let me know what you think, and I'll post the rest as well (I have 9 chapters ready to post, 8 if you don't count this one). Anyway, let's get into it.**

 _ **Disclaimer - I don't own the stuff you recognize.**_

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"Remind me again, Tobias. How on earth did we meet?" the red-haired woman queried, her emerald-green eyes sparkling as they met the firm, sapphire-blue, gaze of her fiancée, who sat on the other side of the table from her, and as she took another sip of her champagne.  
Tobias smiled slightly as she spoke, his voice as calm as always when he replied. "Forgotten the day that a certain handsome Homicide detective saved your life, Miss Osborne? A day I believe that you, at least twice, referred to as 'the best day of your life'?"  
His blue eyes sparkled humorously, reminding her that there was no real hurt in his accusation. He was right, it had been the best day of her life. And so what if she wanted to hear it again every once in a while? She shrugged in response. "Not at all. I'm just particularly fond of the story it started, is all".  
Tobias smiled back at her. "Me too, Monica. Me too".  
 **~Late September, 2011~**  
 _-Monica-_  
Monica looked up as the knife-wielding man, who was at least twice her age, approached her where she sat crouched against the alleyway wall, her fear obvious in her deep green eyes. "Leave me alone! Please, I'll never mention this to anyone I know, I swear it!"  
In response, the man merely spat, and it became obvious from his breath when he next spoke that he had obviously had a lot to drink that night (in fact, how he was still able to speak in cohesive sentences was completely beyond her). "Just shut the hell up. Quit your goddamned crying, hand over everything of value you have on you, and maybe, just maybe, I'll let you go without hurting you too badly…"  
Now more than just scared, she hurriedly unclasped her late grandfather's watch from her right arm and removed the sapphire pendant (a gift from her mother on her 21st) from around her neck, placing them on the ground between her and the armed man. Clearly unsatisfied, the man gestured with the knife in his right hand. "Hand over the bag too. Now!" he ordered.  
"But… Look, I'm just a student, I don't know if there's anything that would be worth your while in there" she protested.  
He scowled. "I don't care what you think is worth my while. I know what I want and unless you want to pay in a different way, then you'll hand it over!"  
That was when a young man about five months older than her stepped into the alleyway behind the knife-wielding man. "Men as drunk as you seem to be shouldn't be playing with knives. You might hurt yourself" the newcomer said calmly, though Monica was unable to tell whether this calmness was the result of pure cockiness, or some kind of rapid assessment of the situation.  
She did hope that it was the latter though. After all, the last thing she needed on her conscience was the knowledge that some cocky idiot had gotten himself injured, or even killed, in a misguided attempt at being a hero. "Stay out of this, kid! This doesn't concern you!" the mugger warned.  
"You have no idea how wrong you are. Let's just say that what you're doing right here, right now, concerns me a hell of a lot. And I'm not going to let you get away with it" came the response.  
The stranger took a step sideways, towards her, and Monica could clearly see that there was a gun in his right hand. He concealed it from the view of the man who had been trying to rob her by holding his arm down by the side, against his brown jacket, but she could clearly see it from where she sat. As she watched his every movement, he started speaking again, and she found herself, somehow, hanging on his every single word. "Look, I'm willing to let you go. I'll pretend I saw nothing here, and you can go do whatever it is you do when you're this drunk. Just let the girl have her stuff back, and allow her to walk away. Nobody has to get hurt" he reasoned.  
This was responded to with a cold laugh. "Hah! And what if I don't agree to your terms? Then what are you going to do?"  
"I'm going to force you to listen" the younger of the two men responded casually.  
He suddenly raised his right arm, revealing the gun that had previously been held at his side. When the mugger next spoke, Monica could hear slightly less cockiness in his voice compared to before. It was almost as if he was actually starting to reconsider doing exactly what he had been about to do. "You really think that a toy gun is going to make me even consider listening to what you have to say?"  
In response, the man fired once. Monica could clearly hear the sound of the bullet being propelled from the barrel, though there was no sound that you would associate with flesh being pierced. Rather, there was just the striking sound that one would associate with a bullet only if it just so happened that the bullet hit a brick wall. "You missed me, kid. Nice try though" the mugger taunted.  
-Tobias-  
Tobias smirked dryly. "I very, very, seldom miss. But that was just a warning shot anyway. Let her go, or, I swear, the next shot will actually hit you. And trust me when I say that I know exactly where to shoot you to cause the maximum amount of pain without killing you".  
"No, I don't think I will".  
Wow. This guy really was drunk. Either that or he was really fucking stupid. Had to be one of the two. The younger man sighed audibly. "Fine then".  
He fired again, this time hitting the mugger in the shoulder. He screamed in pain and dropped the knife, crumpling to the ground, and Tobias immediately fired a third shot, striking him in the lower leg. "Who… who the hell are you to be such a good shot?" the injured man hissed between clenched teeth.  
"NYPD, bitch" the gunman responded coolly.  
Tobias punched his opponent across the face, knocking him out for at least a few hours, and holstered his handgun before holding out a hand to help the girl to her feet. She seemed unsteady and shaky, as she nervously clasped the pendant and watch around her neck and arm respectively, before picking up her bag and turning to the man who had just saved her from being mugged. "I guess I owe you for saving me just then, sir. Thank you".  
Tobias smiled gently. "You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad I could help out. Especially since my partners and I have been trying to catch this man for almost a year now" he replied easily, gesturing towards the man who lay, unconscious, against the wall of the alleyway.  
"You're really with the NYPD then?"  
Tobias grinned, opening his jacket to reveal the badge on the inside of his jacket. "Yeah, I really am with the NYPD. Mostly I work with the Homicide division, solving murders, getting justice for the deceased, that kind of thing. We've also sort of branched off into other serious crimes, crimes that don't quite involve people getting killed before we get there but don't involve any of the other branches of the NYPD because they still have the potential to turn out badly. And that's how my partners and I actually ended up chasing this particular mugger here" he replied, cheerful despite the situation.  
Monica nodded. "I see. Hey, I don't believe I got your name".  
"Tobias Grace. Detective Tobias Grace. And yours?"  
"Monica Osborn. It's nice to meet you, Tobias"  
"The same to you, Monica. Hey, I have to call my partners and let them know to get down here and arrest this guy (and, naturally, they'll want to get a statement from you), but after that, is there any chance I could possibly buy you a drink?" the detective suggested.  
Monica merely smiled at this offer. "If you're offering, detective, I don't see any reason not to accept. Apart from that unconscious shithead over there, anyway… But aside from that, no reason to not accept".  
~Present Day~  
Monica laughed gently at the fond memories which had come rushing back as her fiancée had spoken, and took another bite of the pasta he had prepared earlier. "You've saved my life more times than I can even remember since we first met. It's hard to believe you never got tired of having me around" she joked.  
"I could never get tired of your company" Tobias replied evenly.  
"As for the fact that I've saved your life more times than you can remember, I'd do anything for you" he added quickly.  
The red-haired woman nodded slightly, acknowledging this. "I guess it's true then, what I realized about you the third or fourth time that you saved my life".  
Tobias looked confused for a second. "What was it that you realized, exactly?"  
"That you really are my saving grace".

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 **So. There we go. Definitely let me know what you thought of this chapter, as well as if you'd like to see the rest.**

 **The original chapter didn't have any songs when I originally posted it, but it does now. Songs for this update are:**

 **This Love, by Maroon 5**

 **Everglow, by Coldplay**


	2. Date With Grace

**Here we go, the second instalment of the 'NYC Grace' storyline. This one definitely has closer links to the rest of the PJO/HoO/ToA universe than the first one.**

 **Disclaimer - If you recognize it, I definitely don't own it.**

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~Tobias Grace~  
Seven minutes after Tobias had called his partners, an unmarked police car pulled up in front of the entrance to the alleyway, and a tall young man with black hair got out, followed a couple of moments later by a gorgeous-looking woman with shoulder-length brown hair and eyes that seemed to change color constantly. Tobias bit back a curse. _Stay strong, Tobias… Don't let your ex-girlfriend's charms confuse you. You broke it off with her because she slept with another man, remember? Do not get sidetracked. Strictly business, after all…_ He reminded himself, before forcing a smile and walking towards the newcomers, Monica following a few steps behind him. "Didn't expect you guys to show up so quickly"  
The black-haired man smiled slightly. "We were with the captain in the bar a couple of blocks away when you called. Thought we'd just come here right away"  
Monica coughed gently behind Tobias, and he smiled slightly, turning so that he could see her while still watching his partners. "I apologize. Monica, these are my partners. Detective Aaron Miles and Detective Ruby Heat. Aaron, Ruby, this is Monica Osborne. The guy we've been trying to catch was in the middle of attempting to mug her when I showed up".  
The brunette woman gave a slight nod, before running her eyes over Monica appraisingly. Before she could say anything, however, Aaron, the raven-haired man, smiled. "Good timing then, partner. Be a shame to let a criminal like Brian Andrews get away with another mugging. For that matter, it would be a shame to let any criminal get away with anything".  
Brian Andrews stirred slightly behind them and made to rise to his feet. Before he could, however, Aaron walked over and quickly snapped a pair of handcuffs closed around his wrists before yanking him roughly off of the ground. "Brian Andrews, you're under arrest for multiple counts of robbery, attempted robbery, and one of murder".  
As Aaron led the handcuffed criminal over to his car, Ruby glanced at Monica. "I'll need to take your statement, Ms Osborne. You and Tobias here are the only witnesses, and he might be… more than a little biased, if you understand what I mean".  
Monica rolled her eyes. "Mr. Andrews tried to rob me at knifepoint, and Detective Grace stepped in at just the right time to prevent him from doing so. When he refused to stop, Mr. Andrews was shot twice, once in the lower leg and once in his shoulder, and then knocked unconscious by a blow to the face".  
"Are those the exact details of what occurred?"  
"Yes".  
Ruby nodded slightly, before heading back to where Aaron was waiting beside the car. Tobias let out a sigh of relief as soon as she was out of sight, and Monica chuckled. "Is there something going on between you and Detective Heat? I couldn't help but notice that things seemed to be a bit tense between the two of you".  
"You could say that. She used to be my girlfriend, but we broke up a couple of months ago after she slept with another man. She's been trying to get me back practically ever since".  
"You ever think about actually getting back together with her?" Monica queried.  
Tobias shrugged. "I thought about it once or twice, yes. But it's not worth it. She broke my heart, and I'm not sure that I could ever trust her with it again. Anyway, enough of this dreary subject for now. I believe I promised you a drink, Ms Osborne".  
She grinned at him and slipped her arm through his, reveling in the sensations produced as his skin touched hers. "Indeed you did".  
 **~Twelve minutes later~**  
Her green eyes flashed beautifully as she laughed, and the detective couldn't help but fall for her a little more. Even if they had only just met when he saved her from some mugger in an alleyway. "Another drink?" Tobias queried.  
"Please".  
He signaled to the nearby waiter to bring them two more beers, before turning back to his new companion. "You never did tell me what you do for a living, Ms. Osborne. Would you mind sharing that with me?"  
"Only if you tell me about your family in return" she countered.  
Tobias nodded reluctantly. "Fine. You first".  
"I'm a student majoring in Creative Writing at NYU and working part time as a waitress in a local cafe to pay for my courses. Now it's your turn, Detective. Tell me about your family"  
He shrugged in response to her question. "What is there to tell, really? Famous father, famous mother, two younger sisters, a mysterious aunt, and a first cousin who sacrificed herself to save my aunt's life long before I was even born. My father, Jason, owns one of the most popular and well-known airlines in the world, and my mother, Piper, works at one of the most exclusive cosmetics shops in the city".  
Monica gasped theatrically. "Your parents are **the** Jason and Piper Grace? Are you serious?"  
"I am completely serious. And please, don't patronize me by pretending you hadn't already figured it out. I'm a detective, reading people is one of my specialties" Tobias replied simply.  
Monica rolled her eyes, though it was clear from the grin on her face that she was just messing with him. "So you're a Homicide Detective. That sounds like it must be quite interesting".  
"Well, that depends a lot on how open-and-shut the cases that we get to work on are, to be honest. If they're simple ones, clear motive, clear suspects, no complicated chains of evidence, and an obvious killer, then they're definitely not all that interesting. The complicated ones, on the other hand, are often more than interesting enough to more than make up for the simple ones. We actually had a really interesting one just a couple of weeks ago".  
"Are you allowed to talk about it?"  
Tobias considered his response for a moment before nodding. "If it was an open case, one still under investigation, I would be contractually forbidden to say a word. But it's closed, so… yes, I can tell you about it".  
The red-haired woman took another sip of her drink before shifting in her seat to make herself slightly more comfortable. "Then please do".  
"At around 9 am on the 7th of September, a young woman jogging along the banks of the Hudson River came across a body which had been washed ashore. Thinking it to be someone who had collapsed and was in need of assistance, she ran over to lend what aid she could, only to recoil in horror when she saw how horribly disfigured the body was. Both ante and post-mortem bruising around the ribs and face, cuts on the hands of the corpse proving that the victim fought back, and three stab wounds to the chest, along with deep grooves around the wrists and ankles which suggested that the victim had previously been bound, by either rope or some other equally strong cord. The fact that the body had been in the water made it hard for our medical examiners to give the exact time of death, and the disfiguration of the face made it hard to get an id, but we did eventually manage to get a match by running a search through missing persons and then running dental records. The victim was identified as Ariana Walters, a 28-year old housewife and mother of two who was currently working as an elementary school teacher at a private school close to their home and was currently pregnant with her third child".  
Tobias paused for a breather, allowing Monica to digest his words. "I heard about her disappearance a couple of days before that, but I didn't think she'd turn up dead. Who killed her?"  
"It turned out to be an ex-boyfriend of hers from college. Apparently he never got over their breakup in 2004. He'd been stalking her, and when the husband left to take their kids to school, the ex-boyfriend kidnapped her".  
"Humans can be so callous. It's shocking, really".  
"It certainly is. It's getting kind of late, by the way, do you want me to drop you off anywhere?"  
"I'll be alright, actually, but thank you very much for the offer. It's a nice night, and my apartment is only about five or six blocks away, I think I'll walk".  
By this point, Tobias had paid for their drinks and they were standing on the sidewalk just outside the bar.  
"If you insist. By the way, I really enjoyed spending time with you just then. It's a shame that it had to end so quickly. Do you maybe want to have dinner sometime later this week?"  
Monica smiled shyly at him and pulled a small notepad from her bag, scribbling something on the top sheet before tearing it off and pressing it into his hand. "I'd like that. Call me at some point and we can set something up".  
Once she finished speaking, she placed a brief kiss to his cheek before turning and walking away, her smile still on her face.  
~Monica Osborne~  
 **-Around twenty minutes later-**  
Monica let herself in through the door of the apartment that she and her best friend shared, placing her bag on the kitchen bench and depositing her keys in the stained-glass bowl that sat on the mantelpiece nearby. It was only a couple of seconds later that her phone chimed quietly, alerting her to a new text message. _So that you have my number too - Tobias._ As she quickly registered the detective's phone number, her roommate looked out from her room. "I thought I heard you come in".  
"Well, you did. It's been an interesting evening, I'll say that much. Almost got mugged"  
"Oh?"  
"Yeah. Some detective stepped in just in time to stop him and then I ended up having a couple of drinks with him. Might be having dinner with him later this week as well".  
"Cool".  
Samantha vanished back into her room to do whatever it was she did in there, and Monica chuckled to herself as she switched her phone off and locked the door behind her before heading for the bathroom. She had a lot to think about, not least of which happened to be a particular handsome homicide detective, and a nice hot bath was the perfect place to do so.

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 **There we go. Next chapter should be up Christmas Eve, probably. Definitely leave me a Review if you enjoyed the chapter, or even if you didn't, I love hearing from you!**

 **Next chapter we really get into the Crime side of things for this story. That'll be fun.**

 **Songs for this chapter are:**

 **Whatever It Takes, by Imagine Dragons**

 **Perfect, by Ed Sheeran**


	3. Chasing Grace

**So sorry it's about a week late, but here's the third part of the Grace series. Things are definitely getting dark here.**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own the stuff you recognize, I do own the stuff you don't.**

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"Hand it over".  
The woman paled as the man in black drew closer, and hugged the parcel in her arms closer to her chest. Though she was clearly afraid of him, her tone was strong, defiant, as she responded. "No".  
The man laughed humourlessly, and drew a small, stiletto-like, blade from the inside pocket of his jacket. "You seem to think you have a choice. Hand it over. Or I will kill you".  
His eyes gleamed dangerously in his pale face, and the woman looked frantically around her for any avenues of escape that the alley might offer her. The man was coming towards her from the street, forcing her to move backwards, further into the alleyway, and her retreat would soon be cut off by the chain-link fence that stretched across the other side of the alley and was too sheer to climb. "Shit!"  
"You have no hope of escaping, Miss Reynolds. Hand over the fucking package. Now!" the man growled.  
"You'll never take it!" she cried, pressing the package even closer to her chest, taking another defiant step backwards.  
"Miss Reynolds... You're making a mistake trying to fight this. All I want is the package. And I always get what I want".  
"You'll have to kill me first!"  
Putting on one last burst of speed, she ran towards the man, trying to catch him off guard and buy her maybe a few moments to escape from this nightmare. Unfortunately for her, the man had obviously seen this coming, as he grabbed her and slammed her into the alley wall back-first. It was only a matter of seconds before she felt the knife pierce her chest, and as her attacker withdrew the blade and tore the package from her grasp, her dying eyes focusing on his lips as he spoke one last time. "You were warned".  
As he walked casually away from the mortally wounded young woman, she fell unmoving to the ground to lay face-down in a pool of her own blood. As the dark crimson liquid crept slowly from the slender hole in her chest to pool on the ground beneath her, she whispered a name, loosing it into the air on her final breath. "Jason..."  
~Tobias Grace~  
 **-One hour later-**  
Tobias bit back a curse and struggled to sit up as his iPhone chimed quietly on his bedside table, signalling that someone was trying to call him. Snatching it, he glanced at the screen, muttering something under his breath as he hit the 'answer' button. "Miranda, what do you want? It's not even two in the morning yet, why the hell are you calling me so early?"  
"There's a body".  
Tobias fought to stop the stream of French curses that immediately leaped unbidden to his lips. "And it couldn't have waited another couple of hours?"  
"Ruby and Aaron are already on their way. Aaron said he'd text you the address".  
Tobias sighed, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and getting reluctantly to his feet. "Fine, I'm up. Just give me time to have a shower and grab a coffee, and I'll meet you there in roughly 45 minutes".  
"Fine. But don't you dare keep me waiting, Tobias Carter Grace!"  
And with that, the medical examiner hung up. Tobias sighed in exasperation and tossed his phone onto the bed before heading for the bathroom. This was going to be one hell of a long day…  
 **-45 minutes later-**  
Tobias stepped out of his car and headed for the yellow tape that marked the crime scene, muttering a less-than-enthusiastic response to the greeting given to him by the uniformed officer who lifted it just high enough for him to duck under. "What have you got for us, Mira?" he queried, pulling a pair of white latex gloves from his jacket pocket and slipping them on as he strode quickly over to where the blonde-haired woman was crouched over a body, with Ruby and Aaron standing close by.  
"Female, mid to late twenties. No ID yet, but facial recognition is bound to get us something. Bruising around the ribs and shoulders indicate that she was probably assaulted, and cause of death is most likely to be the stab wound to the chest. From the blood pool I'd say she was killed here, and time of death I'm thinking was slightly over one hour and 45 minutes ago".  
 _Really, nobody should be as enthusiastic as Miranda Reese is right now given how little sleep I happen to know that she has had. In fact, I would be surprised if she had even left the morgue last night at all_ Tobias thought lightly.  
"Were there any visible signs of sexual assault?" Aaron queried.  
Tobias shot him a grateful look, to which he received a slight nod in return. The two knew each other well enough that they could tell when their partner wasn't feeling the best, or the most alert, and often covered for each other in exactly the same way that Aaron had just done for him. Miranda shook her head. "None, but I'll be able to get a closer look at her, and tell you one way or the other for sure, once I get her back to the lab".  
"Much appreciated, as ever".  
"Who found the body?" Ruby queried.  
It was the first time she had spoken since Tobias had arrived at the scene, and Tobias could have sworn that there was something different about her. He just couldn't put his finger on what that might have been. Miranda turned, gesturing to near the entrance to the alleyway, where a black-haired man in a charcoal-grey suit stood face to face with a uniformed officer. "He did. That's Robert Falcon, who owns the buildings on either side".  
"I'll talk to him".  
 _That in itself is weird. As a general rule, Ruby never, and I actually do mean never, offers to talk to witnesses. That's usually something that Aaron or myself do._ Tobias mused.  
As soon as Ruby was out of earshot, he turned to his partner and best friend. "Hey, Aaron?"  
His partner glanced up. "Yeah?"  
"Something seem kind of different about Ruby to you?"  
Aaron considered the question briefly, and then gave a slight nod. "Now that you mention it, she hasn't flirted with you once yet today. And she has been oddly focused on actually doing her job for once. Yeah, I'm definitely thinking something strange is going on".  
 **-Roughly one hour later, back at the Precinct-**  
"I hate this case!"  
"Yeah, so do I, my friend".  
Tobias turned from where he stood in front of the white board that had been dragged into the room to face his partner. Aaron was standing just inside the bullpen, with a brown manila folder in his hands. "Are those the lab results on our vic?" he queried.  
"They identified her. Jennifer Reynolds, works as a nurse at New York Presbyterian".  
"Alright, I suppose that's something. I have to talk to the Captain about something, then I have a call to make to a friend".

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 **So there. Please leave a Review. Please.**

 **Songs for this update are:**

 **Hallelujah, by Jeff Buckley**

 **Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen**


	4. Grace Under Fire

**Aaaaaand they just keep getting darker.**

 **Disclaimer - If you recognize it, I don't own it. If you don't recognize it, then I do own it. That's the way these things work.**

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"Captain Stone, do you have a moment?"  
The older, raven-haired, man glanced up from the papers on his desk at the sound of the Detective's voice. "Of course. What can I help you with, Detective?"  
"Our victim's name is Jennifer Reynolds. She is… was… a nurse at New York Presbyterian. Aaron and I have a friend who works the night shift there, I was thinking maybe I'd call him, ask him to come in, see what he can tell us" Tobias replied quickly, though calmly.  
The Captain considered this for a moment, before nodding slightly. "If you think it will prove useful to our investigation, then I suggest you go with it".  
"Thank you, sir".  
The blonde-haired detective turned to leave his boss's office, but paused when the Captain spoke again. "Detective Grace… was there something else that you wanted to speak with me about?"  
Tobias nodded in response, pivoting to face the older man, who had always been a sort of second father to him. "Yes, sir. I was wondering if, after we closed this case, I could take a couple of days off. I kind of met this cute girl last night, and I was hoping to be able to take her out to dinner this week".  
Captain Stone raised his eyebrows, signalling the Detective to tell him more. "Kind of met?"  
"Well, more like I stopped her from being mugged".  
Recognition dawned in the older man's eyes. "And this would have something to do with the reason that Aaron and Ruby left the bar after you called them, correct?"  
"Yes, sir".  
The Captain smiled slightly. "Of course. You should really take time off more often, Detective. Especially since you've got a girlfriend now…"  
Tobias smirked. "She's not my girlfriend just yet, Captain. Hopefully it won't be long before she is though".  
The Captain nodded. "Noted. Now, get back to work, Detective".  
"Yes, sir".  
Tobias turned on his heel again and walked out of the door, pulling his phone from his pocket and automatically dialling a number. The person on the other side picked up after only three rings. "What can I do for you?"  
"Joe, its Tobias. Is this a bad time?" the detective queried, noting the subtle hint of impatience in his friend's voice.  
The man on the other side of the line sighed. "No, not at all, man. I just can't remember where I parked when I got to work, that's all".  
"Didn't you mention a couple of days ago that you were going to start trying to save petrol by either walking or taking a taxi to work every day?" Tobias queried, remembering a conversation that they had had only a few days before.  
"Ah, goddamnit. I did indeed. What would I do without you and your fantastic memory, Toby?" he chuckled.  
"Be late to work every time, most likely" Tobias responded, shrugging.  
"True, true. So, what can I do for you, old friend?"  
"Are you familiar with a nurse called Jennifer Reynolds?" Tobias asked.  
"Jennifer Reynolds… Sure, I know her. She works the shift before mine. Nice girl, if a little stubborn and strong-willed at times. What's going on, Tobias?"  
"Could you come by the Precinct? I promise I'll explain everything when you get here".  
"Yeah, sure. Anything you need, man. You know that".  
Tobias smiled for what honestly felt like the first time that morning. "Good. I'll see you in 30 then?"  
"See you in 30".  
And with those words, the doctor on the other side of the line hung up. Tobias grinned at Aaron, who was still standing by the board, or the 'murder board' as they had officially termed it, putting the few new things they had learned about their victim onto the board. "I just talked to Joseph. He's on his way".  
"He knew Jennifer or something, then?"  
Tobias nodded grimly. "She worked the shift before his".  
 ** **~Thirty minutes later~****  
"So, guys, are you going to tell me what's going on? Or are you going to make me guess?" the young doctor queried, looking back and forth between Tobias and Aaron.  
"Jennifer Reynolds was found murdered in an alleyway just over two hours ago" Aaron said softly.  
Joseph muttered something under his breath. "Who killed her?"  
"That's what we're trying to find out. Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?" Tobias questioned.  
"No. No, I can't think of anyone. Everyone at work loved her".  
"Do you know if she was seeing anyone?" Aaron queried.  
"I don't believe she was. But she did leave work strangely early last night. She said she had to meet with a man named Jason Gardner".  
 _ _Interesting. Very interesting.__ "Had she ever mentioned anyone by that name before?"  
"No".  
Tobias sighed. They had a suspect, but they knew absolutely nothing about the man. "Thanks for your help. We'll call you if we find anything".  
The three men shook hands, and Joseph headed for the door, pausing momentarily just before he stepped through. "Try talking to her roommate. She might be able to tell you more".  
"Her roommate? What's her name?" Aaron queried.  
"Karen Osborne".  
And with that, he walked out of the room and towards the elevator, leaving the two detectives to their own thoughts.  
 ** **~Ten minutes later~****  
"Karen Osborne?"  
"Who is this?" the woman demanded.  
Her tone was casual, yet clipped and direct. "My name is Tobias Grace. I'm a Homicide Detective with the 12th Precinct. Do you know a woman by the name of Jennifer Reynolds?"  
Her voice softened immediately. "She's my roommate. And we work the same shift at New York Presbyterian. Please, what's this about?"  
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Ms. Osborne, but Jennifer Reynolds was found murdered in an alleyway a few hours ago. Would you mind coming down to the Precinct to answer a few questions?" Tobias responded.  
"I'm on my way".  
Tobias sighed as he hung up, staring at the whiteboard, which had been neatly divided into two sides, one containing everything that they knew about Jennifer Reynolds and the other containing only a single name. Jason Gardner. "This has got to be the worst part of the job".  
Aaron chuckled beside him. "Telling the family and friends? Nah, I think the takedowns are the worst. Remember three months ago when Ruby fell and hurt her ankle while chasing a suspect?"  
"All too well. I kept telling her not to wear high heels on the job, but the stupid girl wouldn't listen to me" Tobias responded, laughing at the memory.  
It was then that there was a crashing sound from the break room, followed by the sound of a young man yelling out in pain. Tobias muttered a curse in French under his breath. "Kyle must have tripped over again. Probably spilt scalding-hot coffee all over himself too… That kid really needs to watch where he's going"

* * *

 **In case you're wondering – Jason Gardner is the man whose name was the last word spoken by Jennifer Reynolds before she was murdered, Joseph Palmer is the childhood friend of Tobias and Aaron as well as the colleague of Jennifer Reynolds, Kyle Stevens is the accident-prone intern working with Tobias's team, and Karen Osborne is the roommate and colleague of Jennifer Reynolds as well as being Monica's older sister.**  
 **So now you know. And Monica will actually appear in the next one! And trust me, they won't all be this case-oriented. Most will actually focus on Tobias and Monica's growing relationship (with cases perhaps as a framing device).**

 **Songs for the update:  
Mermaid, by Train  
I See Fire, by Ed Sheeran**


	5. Calm Grace

**The fifth part of the NYC Grace series, in which we take a break from the case and Tobias gets to spend time with the girl that he may or may not be falling for.**

 _ **Disclaimer - I don't own anything you recognize, I do own the stuff you don't.**_

* * *

"Miss Osborne?" Tobias queried gently as he sat down opposite the red-haired woman who, though around six years older, reminded him of the woman he had met only the night before.

The woman glanced up, nodding to the detective. "Please, call me Karen".

"Of course"

Tobias placed a file on the small table between them and flicked it open, tapping one finger against the picture of Jennifer Reynolds that lay within. "Is this your roommate?" he queried.

Karen's breath hitched for a second, and she nodded slightly. "Yes. Yes, that's her. How… How did it happen?"

"She was stabbed to death in an alleyway not far from here. Apparently she left work early because she had to meet with a man named Jason Gardner. Did she ever mention him before?"

Karen looked thoughtful for a moment. "The name does ring a bell… Yes, she did mention him a couple of times. Apparently he's the curator of The Gardner Gallery"

"Ah, yes. I remember my parents talking about the opening party of that place a few years ago. Actually, my mother even made a comment about his last name reminding her of a girl they went to summer camp with as teens" Tobias commented.

Aaron coughed quietly, and both his partner and the red-haired woman across from them looked at him. "Fascinating as all of this may be, let's try to stick to the topic at hand here, shall we? Do you have any idea why your roommate would be meeting with Jason Gardner?"

"She said that he had asked her to pick up some sort of package for him. She never specified what the package was; just that it was something important to him and that he had requested that she pick it up from a friend and deliver it to him. That's about all I know".

Tobias scribbled some notes on the paper in front of him. "Very informative, thank you. We only have a couple more questions that need to be asked".

Karen nodded. "Of course, anything to help catch the bastard that did this. What do you need to know?"

"Was Ms. Reynolds seeing anyone?"

"No, she was not".

Tobias could tell she was telling the truth. As a detective, it was easy for him to tell when people were lying. Or at least not telling him the whole truth. "Two more questions, Karen. And then you can go. Where were you this morning between midnight and 1 am?"

"You're asking for my alibi? You don't really think I'd do… something like that to my best friend, do you?"

Tobias shook his head, and his voice was soft when he spoke again. "No, I don't. We just have to be absolutely certain, that's all".

"Fine. Between midnight and 1 am this morning I was at Tivondra. I got there just before midnight after my shift ended at 11:30, and I didn't leave until three when I took a taxi home".

"Is there anyone who we can speak to about confirming this?" Aaron queried.

"My ex-boyfriend, Harrison Burke. He works at Tivondra as a bartender, his shift is from just before midnight to just after three in the morning, so he was still working when I left. Also, the security cameras for my building would have caught me getting out of the cab just after 3, so you can check those too".

Tobias made a note of this. "Okay. I just have one more question".

"Ask away".

"When was the last time you saw Jennifer?"

"She left the hospital at about 10:30 last night, an hour before our shift ended. She said she had an errand to run, asked me to cover for her, and said that she'd be back at the apartment by the time I got up, if not before then".

"And when she said an errand, she was referring to the package that she had to deliver to Mr. Gardner, right?" Aaron queried.

"That is correct".

Tobias stood, shaking the older woman's hand. "That's all we need to know for now. Thank you for coming in, Ms. Osborne. We'll call if anything comes up".

"I'm glad I could be of assistance. Please, catch the bastard who did this".

Aaron nodded. "We will. And we will make them pay".

Satisfied, Karen smiled slightly, before turning and leaving the room, Aaron and Tobias following her. "Aaron, get in touch with Harrison Burke. And see if you can get the security camera footage from Karen Osborne's building. I want her alibi confirmed as soon as possible" Tobias instructed.

Tobias's partner nodded. "What about Tivondra's cameras? A place like that is bound to have them, and, if we can get our hands on the security camera footage from the time that she said she was there, then that will just help us to confirm her alibi".

"Good idea. Get to work then. I'll update the Captain on what we have so far".

"Of course".

As Aaron walked away in the direction of his desk, a uniformed officer walked over to Tobias. "Detective?"

"Officer Baxter. What can I do for you?"

The younger woman looked nervous. "There's a woman waiting at your desk for you. I thought you might like to know".

"What does this woman look like?" Tobias queried.

"Tall, slender, relatively gorgeous. More or less the same age as me. Sapphire pendant around her neck, watch on her right arm. Lightly tanned skin, looks a bit like Lily Potter".

"Oh. Yeah, I know her. Thanks for letting me know".

"You're most welcome, Detective".

She ran off towards where the other officers were waiting, and Tobias strode back to his desk, quickly spotting the young woman sitting calmly in a chair next to it. "Monica?"

The woman looked up, smiling as she saw him. "Hi, Tobias".

The detective looked puzzled. "What are you doing here?"

"I was checking out a bookstore in the area, thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to get breakfast with me. I know this great little café not too far from here, and I imagine your Captain wouldn't mind if you take a quick break…"

Tobias grinned slightly. "I'll go ask him then".

He disappeared down the hallway that led to the Captain's office, emerging five minutes later, smiling. Quickly walking back to his desk, he pocketed his phone as Monica stood, offering her his hand. "Shall we go, then?"

She smiled, gratefully accepting his hand. As they headed for the elevator, she seemed to unconsciously shift, leaning slightly more into him. "We shall".

* * *

 **Songs for this update:**

 **Bones - Ginny Blackmore**

 **Cups (Pitch Perfect's 'When I'm Gone') - Anna Kendrick**


	6. Relaxed Grace

"So, Tobias, what can you tell me about yourself that you haven't already told me?" the young student queried, taking another small sip of the coffee that sat on the table between her and the detective, surveying him with the brilliant emerald-green eyes that had been part of the reason he had been so interested in her in the first place.

He gave her a small smile in return. "Considering how little I mentioned about myself yesterday, apart from my family and that I'm a homicide detective partnered with my best friend and my ex-girlfriend, probably quite a lot".

Monica nodded slightly. "How awkward is that, exactly? You know, working with your ex-girlfriend and having her constantly trying to get back together with you?"

Tobias shrugged. "It was rather awkward at first, but after the first few weeks had passed, and she seemed to realise that I had no interest whatsoever in actually getting back together with her, she seemed to settle down a bit. Sure, she still flirts with me almost all the time, but I guess I've just learned to tune it out after a while, you know?"

The woman across from him took another sip of her coffee. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. Anyway, we're getting off topic here".

She paused, pointing her spoon dramatically at him. "Get talking, Grace".

Tobias raised an eyebrow at the action, but couldn't stop a slight grin from playing across his features. He sat back slightly in his chair, crossing his arms. "What do you want to know?"

"What made you decide that you wanted to become a homicide detective in the first place? It just seems like such an unlikely choice of occupation for someone with parents like yours"

Tobias smiled slightly. "I guess it is an unlikely occupation. But that's exactly what I love about it the most. People aren't expecting the son of Jason and Piper Grace to be working as a Homicide Detective instead of… oh, I don't know, a lawyer or a doctor or something. And defying expectations has always been something I've been good at doing. But if I'm really honest, I guess the reason I became a detective is because I've always loved solving puzzles and mysteries, ever since I was a boy, and my job gives me the opportunity to do that while helping people get justice for the deaths of those they love. Sometimes for people of less… reputable… character as well, but mostly for loved ones".

"Must be hard work" Monica commented idly.

"It is, yes. But being able to help people get closure, seeing the relief on their faces when I tell them the name of the person responsible for the murder of their loved ones and that the killer will be going away for a long time? That's what makes it all worth it in the end" Tobias agreed.

"How long does it usually take to solve a homicide case, anyway?" Monica queried.

Tobias shrugged, taking a quick sip of the (now-lukewarm) coffee in front of him as he thought about the question. "It usually takes my partners and me around a week, give or take a couple of days. But there have been a few that have taken longer. Really, it all depends on how useful the evidence that we find is, what kind of leads we get, whether or not our suspects are in the city when we need them to be. And that's not including the serial cases…"

Monica raised an eyebrow, leaning forwards in her chair in interest. "Serial cases?"

"Some of the cases we work… well, they don't just involve one victim. There was this case we worked a couple of months ago, in fact. The Jessica Williams case, as I like to refer to it. She was a 26-year old woman who was found strangled in her bedroom. We discovered the case was linked to a couple of the cold cases we'd been unable to solve previously and worked it for a few days without leads before a man named Miles Ford was found dead, murdered in the same way as the previous victims. The killer, a man by the name of Aaren Alisini, got overconfident and sloppy. He left his fingerprints all over the rope used to kill Miles, and we were finally able to identify him and take him into custody. Or at least we should have been able to…"

Monica looked thoughtful. "Should have been able to?"

"He shot himself before we could disarm him".

Monica blinked in surprise. "Oh".

"Yeah. Anyway… could we talk about something a little less depressing now, please? This isn't really the kind of conversation I'd like to have over coffee"

Monica gave him a slight smile. "You said something about having two younger sisters, right?"

Tobias nodded. "That's right. Katrina and Rebecca"

"Tell me about them?"

The young detective smiled fondly. "They're fraternal twins, about twelve years younger than me, and Rebecca is the older twin by five minutes. Rebecca's slightly taller than Kat, with long hair the same shade of brown as my mother's, and the same sky-blue eyes as my father and myself. Katrina is slightly shorter than her twin sister, though still of average height for a 10-year old girl and has the same blonde hair I do, but she definitely has my mother's eyes. Personality-wise, they're pretty similar. Both are outgoing, friendly and love taking any possible opportunity to meet new people and do new things, but Katrina has always been more of a leader than Rebecca".

"What kind of subjects are they interested in?" Monica queried.

"All sorts of things, interestingly enough. Last time I saw them, Katrina was engrossed in a project about the planet Jupiter that she was doing with my father's help, and Rebecca was doing something about sea turtles".

"That sounds cute"

Tobias smiled. "It is. They're good kids, they really are. And I love spending time with them whenever I can, that much is for sure. I just wish I could spend more time with them, that's all".

Monica nodded. "I wish I could meet them"

Tobias smiled. "Well maybe I'll introduce you to them sometime". _If this goes on as long as I hope it does, then I'll have no reason not to introduce you to them_ he mused.

"I'd like that".

As Tobias contemplated his next response, his iPhone chirped quietly in his pocket. He pulled it out, glancing briefly at the screen, and sighed. "I'm so sorry, but I have to take this. It might be important".

"No problem"

Tobias gave her a smile before walking outside and leaning against the wall, putting his iPhone to his ear as he did so. "Yes?"

Almost immediately, the medical examiner's voice filled the detective's ears. "I've identified the murder weapon. A small, stiletto-like blade. Probably thin enough to slip between the ribs and into the heart without leaving too much damage".

"So you were right about the cause of death then" the detective observed.

"Correct".

Tobias smiled. Finally, they were actually starting to make some progress on the case. "Good work, Miranda. Have a copy of the lab results and the autopsy sent to my email as soon as they're done, will you?"

"Of course, Detective".

And with that, Miranda hung up, and Tobias sighed, tucking his phone back into his pocket and walking back into the small cafe to rejoin Monica. "So, who was it?" the student queried.

Tobias didn't miss the glint of what might have been very faint jealousy in the young woman's emerald eyes. "Dr. Miranda Reese, the head of the Precinct's forensic team and one of the city's best medical examiners. She also happens to secretly have a crush on Damien Smith, the head detective from the Robbery floor. She wanted to let me know that she identified the murder weapon used to kill our latest victim, that's all"

"Oh".

Monica's relief was evident. Tobias smiled gently, slipping his hand over hers where it lay flat on the table. The student looked surprised at this, but didn't pull away, a light blush slowly creeping to her cheeks at the contact. "So I was thinking about that dinner I asked you out on last night…"

"The one you were somewhat vague about?"

Monica's eyes sparkled as she posed the question, and the detective nodded. "That one, yes. Well, I was thinking… Maybe we could have dinner and see a movie or something tomorrow night? I hear _Forbidden Planet_ is showing at the Angelika".

Monica smiled brilliantly. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. _Forbidden Planet_ is one of my all-time favourite films, so it would be nice to see it again".

"Alright, it's settled. I'm really looking forward to it".

"Me too, Tobias. Me too".


	7. Heated Grace

**Next part of the NYC Grace series is here! Back to the case-work we go!**

 **Disclaimer - If you recognise it, I definitely don't own it.**

* * *

As the elevator slid to a stop on the Precinct's Homicide floor, Tobias stepped out, nodding to Aaron as he walked over to his friend. "So, Miranda has managed to identify for us the type of weapon that was used to kill Jennifer Reynolds, what else have we got? And please, don't tell me that the answer is absolutely nothing"  
Aaron grinned at his partner. "Eager to get this case solved, huh?"  
"Oh, you have no idea… But seriously, as long as we can get this case solved and the paperwork done before tomorrow night, then I'll be very happy. I have a date tomorrow night. Now, time to stop messing around get to the heart of the matter. What have we got?"  
"I spoke with Harrison Burke as you suggested. He confirmed that Ms. Osborne was there from just before midnight until three this morning".  
The blonde-haired detective nodded. "Well, that helps a little. What about security camera footage?"  
"Our techs are going over the footage from both Tivondra and the apartment building now. We should have results within the hour" Aaron replied calmly.  
Tobias nodded. "And what about Jason Gardner?"  
"Ruby is talking to his assistant, a woman by the name of Natasha Bedingfield, now. She's trying to get an appointment so that we can speak with him as soon as possible".  
Tobias considered his partner's response. It was still odd that his ex-girlfriend hadn't tried to flirt with him at least once over the past couple of hours, and he couldn't help but wonder whether she was planning to spring some sort of ambush or something on him at the last possible second before he left the Precinct that night, but he was glad that she was actually focused on doing her job. "Good. Let me know as soon as she's done, will you? The sooner the better"  
"Certainly. Oh, and I had unis do a canvas of the area where Jennifer Reynold's body was found. I know the early time of her death makes it unlikely that anyone will have seen anything relevant to our investigation, but there's always a possibility, right?"  
Tobias nodded, knowing his best friend was right. There was almost no chance that anyone would have seen anything relevant to their case at such an early hour of the day, but it still couldn't hurt to check. "Good point. After all, if you talk to enough people, something usually shakes out. Let me know what turns up. I'm going to go talk to the Captain, let him know what we've got so far".  
At the other man's nod of acknowledgement, Tobias walked down the hall towards Captain Woods' office. Knocking briskly at the door, he opened it before coughing quietly, causing the older man to glance up at him. "How can I help you, Detective?"  
"Do you have a moment, sir? I just wanted to update you on the Jennifer Reynolds case"  
Captain Woods leaned forwards in his chair. "What progress have you made so far?"  
"Well, sir, we've been able to identify the type of weapon that was used to kill her. It's a small, stiletto-like, blade. According to Miranda's lab report, we're looking for a weapon thin enough to slip between the victim's ribs and into the heart without leaving too much of a trace".  
The older man nodded. "That's a good start, Detective. What else have you got?"  
"We spoke with the victim's roommate, a Ms. Karen Osborne, who worked the same shift at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She told us that Jennifer left work early last night, saying she had to stop by their apartment to pick something up, and then meet with a man by the name of Jason Gardner".  
The Captain held up his hand, causing Tobias to pause. "Jason Gardner? As in the curator of the Gardner Gallery?" the man queried.  
Tobias nodded. "Yes, sir. The very same"  
"And have you spoken with Mr. Gardner yet?"  
"Ruby is talking to his assistant to arrange an appointment to speak with him as we speak".  
"What's Karen's alibi for last night?"  
"She was drinking at Tivondra from just before midnight until three in the morning"  
"Confirmation?"  
"Her ex-boyfriend. Harrison Burke, a bartender at Tivondra. He confirms that she was there until three this morning. Our techs are going through the security camera footage for both Tivondra and the apartment building where Karen and Jennifer lived right now".  
The Captain nodded. "One last question. Did anyone happen to see or hear anything that might be relevant to the case?"  
Tobias considered the question for a second. "It's unlikely, given the early hour at which the murder was committed, but we have uniforms canvasing the area now. If someone saw or heard something relevant, we should know within the next couple of hours".  
"Good work, Detective. Keep me informed".  
The blonde nodded. "Of course, sir"  
"Will that be all, Detective?"  
"Yes, sir"  
"Then get back to work"  
Nodding to the Captain, Tobias stepped out of the office to rejoin his partner, closing the door behind him.

* * *

 **Songs for this chapter are:**

 **When you say nothing at all - Ronan Keating**

 **Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Nine Days**


	8. Cursing Grace

**And now onto the next part of the NYC Grace series!**

 _ **Disclaimer - I don't own characters that are originally from the Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus series.**_

* * *

Tobias stared at the file open on his desk computer, reading the autopsy report for the third time in less than fifteen minutes, being sure to note every detail, no matter how insignificant it seemed. About a third of the way down the page, something finally caught his eye. "Shit. No, no, no, no, no. That can't be right, there has to be some sort of mistake" he muttered under his breath, pulling his phone from his pocket and punching in the coroner's number.

The woman's voice was on the other end of the line just a few short seconds later. "This is Dr. Reese speaking. What can I do for you?"

"Miranda, its Tobias. I was rereading your autopsy report on Jennifer Reynolds and something caught my eye. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind clarifying it a little more for me" the blonde detective replied evenly.

"Of course, Tobias. Whatever you need. What was it in particular that caught your eye?"

"Under her cause of death, you put down that the killing blow was a single stab that punctured the heart, but that, contrary to your initial findings, there were also slight abrasions on her ribs that might have been inflicted at around the same time?"

"That would be correct. I also found metal fragments in the wounds".

At the Medical Examiner's words, Tobias frowned. "Metal fragments… Could they possibly be shards that have broken off of our murder weapon, Miranda?"

On the other side of the line, the blonde-haired medical examiner nodded, her lips pursing thoughtfully. "They could be. It's hard to say for sure until we manage to find the actual murder weapon, but it is definitely possible…"

Her voice trailed off mid-sentence, surprising the detective. "Miranda? Are you still there?"

"Sorry, I just realized why I'd been thinking this method of death looked familiar. We've seen this before. Remember the Barbara Walters case last year?"

Tobias paled immediately. "Shit. My god, why didn't I see that sooner? I'll talk to you later, Miranda, I have to call CSU and check something!"

"Okay, just let me know if there's any way that I can be of assistance then!"

Tobias hung up, quickly dialling another number. "Dr. Bruce? It's Detective Grace. When you and your team were at the scene of Jennifer Reynolds' murder, did you find anything unusual?"

"What do you mean by unusual exactly?" the older woman's voice queried.

"I mean like small charms, or pieces of jewellery. Just anything that seemed out of place" Tobias replied calmly.

After a few minutes silence, the Head of CSU's voice was thoughtful when she finally responded. "Now that you mention it… There was a small charm on the ground where we found the body. We thought it belonged to the victim at first, but she wasn't wearing any jewellery when she was found so that can't have been it…"

"What was this charm exactly?" Tobias demanded.

If it was what he suspected it was, then it suddenly made solving Jennifer Reynolds' murder that much more important. "A small set of silver scales with the word Libra on the back" was the reply.

"And it can't have been our victim's charm at all, since she was born on the 25th of April and was therefore a Taurus… Then there's no doubt about who we're dealing with. Thank you for your time, Dr. Bruce, I will speak to you later. Keep me informed if you find anything else, as usual. And get that charm bagged and sent down to Adrianna for her to examine. I want it checked for fingerprints, or anything that might lead us to our killer"

"Certainly, Detective".

And with that, the line went dead. The blonde-haired detective sighed, slipping his phone back into his pocket and turning to his partner as the latter stepped out of the break room with a cup of coffee in his hand. "This case may be bigger than we had anticipated, my friend. CSU found a small charm at the scene of the crime that didn't belong to our victim".

"So our killer dropped a charm. Big deal. It means we're now one piece of evidence closer to being able to arrest the killer".

Tobias shook his head. "I don't think you quite understand the significance of this find. It was a small silver charm in the shape of a pair of kitchen scales. And it had the word Libra on it".

"And CSU is absolutely sure it didn't belong to our victim?"

"Jennifer Reynolds was a Taurus, there's no way it was hers" Tobias replied grimly.

The other detective's eyes widened in shock as he finally realized what the blonde was saying. "You're saying he's back?"

"Cause of death matches Barbara Walters, as do the small metallic shards found in the injury and the small abrasions on the victim's ribs. Plus we found an identical Libra charm at the scene of her death a year ago, and there was no way it was hers, since she was an Aquarius".

Aaron scowled. "There's no denying it then, I suppose. The Libra Killer is active again. Now it's even more crucial that we arrange that meeting with Jason Gardner. We need to know exactly what was in that package Jennifer was supposed to be delivering for him and who the hell could have possibly wanted it so badly that they were willing to have an innocent woman killed just to get it".

His partner and best friend nodded grimly. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Guess we'd better get to work".

* * *

 **So things are getting more and more exciting!**

 **Songs for this update:  
Wonderwall, by Oasis  
One Of These Nights, by The Eagles  
**


	9. Artistic Grace

**Here's the next part of the series, during which we get some new leads as to what the heck is actually going on with this case! Also, we finally have some cover art, done for me by the amazing Chelle from the unofficial AO3 server!**

* * *

"Ruby".  
Tobias's other partner glanced up at him from her desk. "Need something?"  
"Have you arranged that meeting with Jason Gardner yet?"  
She nodded, handing a piece of notepaper with the meeting details and address on it to the blonde detective. "I actually just got off the phone with Natasha Bedingfield, his assistant. There's a meeting arranged in his office at the gallery for forty-five minutes from now".  
Tobias smiled gratefully, folding the notepaper and slipping it into his pocket. "Thank you".  
"Happy to help. Oh, and maybe after this case is over, we could go get a drink or something and talk about old times… Just the two of us".  
 _ _I should have known it was too good to last__. "Thanks for the offer, Ruby, but I'm going to have to pass. I'm still not exactly eager to get back together with you, especially since I'm still bitter that you cheated on me in the first place which ended our original relationship. Besides, I already have plans with someone else once we close this case".  
Tobias could tell that his response had piqued his ex-girlfriend's curiosity, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't say anything aside from a quiet "Oh".  
The blonde nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, me and Aaron are going to head over to the gallery to meet with Mr. Gardner now. Why don't you make a start on searching through Jennifer Reynold's financials, see if any unusually large deposits or withdrawals leap out at you?"  
"You got it".  
As she swivelled her chair to face her keyboard and starting typing, her fingers practically flying across the keyboard, Tobias turned and headed for the elevator. He squeezed in just as the doors were about to slide shut, joining his partner, who grinned at him. "Almost didn't make it that time, huh, Toby?"  
Tobias rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Ruby asked me to get drinks with her after this case. She threw me off guard for a couple of seconds".  
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, she's still trying to ask you to get back together with her? Even considering you've said 'No' the past fifteen times?"  
"Seriously, yeah. I genuinely thought that she'd decided to stop trying and move on, but knowing her I guess I should have seen this coming. I'm not even sure why I was surprised, to be entirely honest".  
"You thought she'd finally moved on" Tobias's black-haired partner observed, his voice quiet.  
"I did, yes. There was never a possibility that I would get back together with her after she cheated on me, but I guess I assumed that she had finally got the message. Now, if you don't mind, can we move on from this topic and on to something that doesn't concern Ruby?"  
"Of course we can. What did you have in mind?"  
"How's Chloe? I haven't seen her around for a while"  
As Tobias had expected, Aaron's eyes lit up at the mention of his girlfriend. "She's good, actually. She's been in San Francisco for the past week at a conference on updated crime-fighting technology and anti-hack methods".  
As the doors slid open, both detectives stepped out into the lobby, waving quickly to the desk sergeant as they passed by his desk and passed through the door to the stairwell that led to the precinct's garage. "The same one Lara Parks mentioned she was going to?" Tobias queried, recalling the emails that the precinct's technical administrator had sent en masse, all relating to the fact that she and many of the NYPD's tech experts would be unavailable for the next few days due to being in San Francisco.  
"The very same. Anyway, their plane gets back tomorrow night, so I'm meeting her at the airport and then we're going to go out for dinner at a nice restaurant, go back to my place, curl up on the couch together, and watch Netflix until we fall asleep".  
"That might actually be the perfect date for the two of you".  
As they stopped in front of the car, Tobias pulled the car keys from his back pocket and quickly pressed the unlock button, then pulled the driver's side door open and slipped in, settling into the leather seat. __God, I love these Dodge Chargers.__ Reaching over and pushing the passenger-side door open, his partner gave him a grateful nod as he slipped into the car as well. "Thanks".  
"Yeah, well, you'd do the same for me".  
"If you ever let me drive" came the reply.  
Tobias smirked, quickly doing up his seatbelt before pausing to wait for his partner to do the same. "Hey. My car, my rules".  
"Technically it's not actually your car, it's the department's…"  
The blonde detective gave his black-haired best friend a playful glare. "Shush".  
Pulling out into the street, Tobias quickly switched on the GPS, keying in the location of the art gallery where they were going. "Thank god the gallery isn't too far away from here".  
Aaron nodded thoughtfully. "Agreed. I'm curious to see what we can learn about Jennifer Reynolds last hours and this mysterious package she was supposed to deliver. And hopefully that will also tell us exactly why someone would kill for it".  
Tobias nodded, his eyes flickering to the GPS briefly before returning to the road ahead of them. "Hopefully".  
"On another note… Have you got anything planned for tomorrow night? It's just I told you what I was planning on doing with Chloe, but we got to the car before I could ask you whether you had any plans yourself".  
Tobias nodded. "I do have plans, yeah. I have a date with Monica Osbourne".  
His partner looked puzzled for a minute or so, obviously trying to picture the girl Tobias had just named. After two minutes of no response, the blonde sighed. "The girl from the alleyway last night. You and Ruby took her statement in regards to the Brian Andrews arrest".  
The other man's face cleared. "Oh. Tall girl, probably slightly younger than us, who looks like a real-life Lily Potter?"  
"The very same".  
Aaron grinned. "Yeah, I had a feeling you'd end up going out with her. In fact, when Ruby and I met you guys to take the statement in the first place I secretly wondered if the two of you had been secretly dating and just not told any of us yet. Frankly, I'm glad that's not the case".  
Tobias nodded, smiling softly. "Me too. Anyway, I'm picking her up from her apartment tomorrow night, then we're going to go have dinner together before seeing Forbidden Planet at the Angelika".  
"Sounds like a good date".  
"It should be".  
They continued their conversation for a while as Tobias drove, and before long they were pulling into a parking lot just outside the gallery they were looking for. "The Gardner Gallery" Aaron said quietly, reading the gallery's name off the neon-lit sign.  
Tobias stopped the car, quickly reaching over and undoing his seatbelt before slipping out of the car and closing the door behind him. "Indeed. Now, let's get to this meeting with Jason Gardner".  
As they stepped into the lobby, the walls of which were painted a warm, sunny, yellow in colour, the blonde-haired woman sitting at the front desk looked up from her computer, smiling warmly at them. "Hi, how can I help you two today?"  
Tobias unclipped his badge from his belt, holding it out. "I'm Detective Grace and this is my partner Detective Miles from the 12th Precinct. We have a meeting with Jason Gardner to discuss the murder of a woman who was working for him recently".  
The blonde-haired receptionist, who couldn't have been more than 25 years old, quickly typed something on the keyboard in front of her, before nodding. "Okay. Yes, I can see the appointment on our schedule here. Alright, go on through. Go through the door on your left, and then take the second door on your right into a lobby that looks like this one but with orange walls instead of yellow. Tell the woman in there why you're here, and she'll let you into Mr. Gardner's office".  
"Simple enough. Thank you for your help" Tobias shrugged, clipping his badge back onto his belt beside his holstered handgun before turning and heading for the door that the woman had indicated, with his partner right behind him.  
"You think that Jason Gardner had anything to do with Jennifer's death?" Aaron wondered as soon as they were through the door.  
Tobias shrugged. "I hope not. From what I can remember of him, he's a good man and a popular figure in the art community, as well as the head of several programs aimed at struggling artists. I'd hate to have to arrest him".  
"We do what we have to do" Aaron said quietly.  
"True".  
They stepped through the second door on the right into a room that looked very much like the lobby they had just left, and Tobias strode towards the desk, flashing his badge as he did so. "NYPD. Are you Natasha Bedingfield?"  
The red-haired woman sitting behind the desk looked up at the sound of his voice, nodding. She couldn't have been much more than thirty years old, maybe 35 at the oldest. "That would be me. What can I do for you?"  
"I'm Detective Tobias Grace. This is my partner, Detective Aaron Miles. We have a meeting with your boss, Jason Gardner, to discuss a woman that we believe may have been working for him recently".  
The woman glanced at her computer screen, tapping something on her keyboard, before nodding. "Of course, right this way".  
She stood, leading the two detectives down (yet another) short hallway, knocking briskly on an oak door. "Mr. Gardner, there are two detectives from the NYPD here to see you".  
"Show them in".  
"As you wish".  
Natasha opened the door and gestured for Tobias and his partner to enter before shutting the door and walking back down the hallway to her desk. Tobias glanced around the office that he and Aaron found themselves in. The walls were painted a simple white colour, and the floor was covered by a simple brown rug. A desk made of dark wood was in the exact center of the room, with two simple wood and leather chairs on the side nearest to us. On the side of the desk opposite was a standard swivel chair of dark-brown leather. Much of the space on the wall behind the desk was taken up by a large abstract painting composed entirely of different shades of blue. "Well, that is a rather unusual painting to say the least" Aaron muttered.  
"I know. Hard to believe that this sort of thing passes for art these days" Tobias replied in agreement.  
"Can I help you gentlemen?"  
The man behind the desk stood and walked around to them, hand outstretched. He was wearing a blue short-sleeved short and long white pants, along with brown loafers. Tobias took his hand, noting with satisfaction that the other man's grip was firm and strong. As their hands separated, and Aaron stepped forward to shake the curator's hand, Tobias slipped his badge from his belt. "You're Jason Gardner?"  
The other brown-haired man nodded, taking off his sunglasses and folded them carefully before setting them aside, his grey eyes steady and unreadable. "I am. And you're the detectives from the 12th Precinct. My assistant told me you'd want to talk to me about a murder?"  
"We would like that, yes. I'm Tobias Grace, and this is Aaron Miles. We need to talk to you about the death of Jennifer Reynolds".  
The curator looked stunned for a few seconds as he collapsed back into his chair. "Shit… She's dead? How long ago?"  
Tobias glanced quickly at his watch, trying to calculate exactly that. "We found her at roughly 1:45 this morning, and our coroner estimated that her time of death was an hour before that. Now, if you don't mind, we have a few questions of our own to ask you. How well did the two of you know each other?"  
"Not very well. She came in here with her girlfriend every couple of days to look around. We chatted a bit, but I would never really have classed us as friends".  
 _ _Wait, Jennifer Reynolds had a girlfriend? Now there's some brand-new information. Well, I guess that that warrants another talk with Karen Osbourne, since if anyone knew who our victim's girlfriend was, it would have to be her.__ "And yet the two of you knew each other well enough that you trusted her enough to ask her to pick up a package that you needed delivered to you last night instead of just going yourself" Tobias pointed out.  
"Okay, yeah, we were friends". The curator nodded, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk. "You might as well sit down, it's kind of a long story".  
Once Tobias and his fellow detective had done so, Jason sighed. "She attended an event here a couple of years ago, a few months before she and her girlfriend got together. We were celebrating the launch of a fantastic new artist's work".  
Tobias nodded. "I remember my parents telling me about her work when they last came here with my sisters. Alexis Clarke. She's widely known for painting stunningly realistic landscapes and portraits, almost like you're looking at a photograph".  
"That's right. We'd just starting exhibiting her work here, and the gallery had never been that popular before, so we decided that we'd hold an event to celebrate. Jennifer was one of the first to arrive, and we spent most of the night talking and admiring the paintings before she left at around 12:30 am"  
"And the two of you kept in touch?" Aaron queried.  
"Yes. We hold charity auctions every fortnight, and she never missed one. She never actually bought anything, but that didn't stop her from coming to the auctions anyway. And frequently she'd come in even when there wasn't an auction on. She'd come in early afternoon, usually just after noon. We would sit and talk for a while, admire a couple of paintings, and enjoy a cup of coffee together before she would leave to head home and get changed for work. We were friends, and we both knew that was all we were ever going to be, so we trusted each other immensely".  
Tobias and Aaron glanced at each other. This was interesting. Very interesting. "I see. And where does the package come into this?" Tobias asked.  
"The package contains photographic proof of art forgery".  
Tobias's mouth dropped open. "Forgery? You're sure?".  
"I am. One of my sources, who for this conversation will go unnamed, told me he saw lights in an abandoned workshop he was passing on his way home one night. Being a curious fellow by nature, he couldn't resist looking inside, and he saw at least five people, all of whom were painting".  
Aaron looked puzzled. "That doesn't sound all that suspicious, honestly".  
"Oh no? He could make out the closest painting to the door, and it was practically an exact copy of one that hangs in the gallery at this very second. And I know the original is hanging here in the gallery because I personally received it from the artist herself, the night before my source reported seeing the forgery".  
Tobias leaned forward. "So, how does Ms. Reynolds fit into all this?"  
"She and my assistant were the only ones I trusted enough to tell about the forgery investigation. My source kept us informed on the activities in the workshop, and I decided to ask him to take some photos that showed the faces of the forgers and their activities so we could go to the police. Last night I called Jennifer and asked her if she would mind meeting our source to pick up the package that contained the photos and bring them back to me. She said she'd be delighted to and that she'd leave work early so she could go home and change before she had to meet the source at 11:30. I kept the gallery open much later than usual for her, but she never showed up".  
Tobias sat quietly for a minute, letting all that the curator had just said sink in. "Thank you, Mr Gardner, that was very informative. We just have a couple more questions".  
The older man nodded. "Of course, anything you need to know".  
"What was your source's name?"  
There was another sigh, this one reluctant. The curator clearly didn't want to answer the question. "Fletcher Carney. That's the name of my source".  
"How do you spell Carney, exactly?" Tobias queried.  
"C-A-R-N-E-Y".  
Tobias glanced at his partner, who nodded back and quickly tapped in a couple of words on his phone before holding it up for the blonde to see, showing an open Notes app with the words 'Forgery Source - Fletcher Carney' displayed on it. "Next question. Did anyone ever accompany Jennifer to these fortnightly charity auctions?"  
"Now that you mention it, yes. The first few months that she attended the auctions she did so on her own, but after a while she started bringing a beautiful red-haired woman with her. The other woman always wore a certain floor-length green silk dress, I distinctly remember it because it was almost the exact same shade of green as her eyes. It was obvious from the way that they looked at each other that they were dating, or at least had feelings for each other".  
"And how old was the other woman?"  
"She was the same age as Ms Reynolds, give or take a couple of months"  
 _ _Red hair? Green eyes? About the same age as our victim? Okay, we need to talk to Karen Osbourne again. And preferably quite soon.__ "What time did you leave the gallery last night? We're trying to establish a basic timeline of events that occurred".  
"Natasha and I left at the same time, approximately 1:15 am this morning, after I realized that Jennifer wasn't going to show up".  
"And what did you do after that?"  
"I dropped her off at her apartment and went home to get some sleep".  
"Is there anyone that can confirm this, aside from your assistant?" Aaron queried.  
"You don't think I'd actually kill her, do you? I needed those pictures so that I could have actual photographic proof of art forgery before going to the police. I would never have killed her" the older man replied calmly.  
"We don't think you killed her, no. But I'm sure you understand that as detectives we must explore every possibility. Is there anyone, aside from your assistant, that can confirm your whereabouts last night?"  
"I'll have Malcolm Tethers, my security chief, give you a copy of all of the security camera footage from last night. And a copy of my car's GPS log. And you might want to talk to my wife, Elizabeth. She was still awake when I got home".  
Tobias nodded, satisfied, and got to his feet. "Thank you, Mr. Gardner. You've been most co-operative".  
"My pleasure".  
The curator stood, shaking the hands of both detectives. "Catch whoever did this, detectives. Please. Jennifer Reynolds did not deserve to die".  
Tobias nodded. "We will. We'll let you know when we've caught the person responsible for her death".  
And with those words, he turned and walked towards the door out of the curator's office, his partner right behind him.

* * *

 **Songs for this update:**

 **Superman (It's Not Easy), by Five For Fighting  
and  
Friday I'm In Love, by The Cure.  
**


	10. Questioning Grace

**Here's the next part (and currently the longest part) of the NYC Grace series!**

* * *

"Do you think Jason hired Libra to kill Jennifer?" Aaron queried as they left the art gallery.  
Tobias shook his head. "It's like he said. He needed those photos of art forgery before he could come to us. Since Jennifer was meant to deliver them to him anyway, he had no reason to kill her. Regardless, we'll talk to his wife and check both the gallery's security footage and his car's GPS log. Can you take care of that when we get back to the Precinct later?"  
Tobias's partner grinned at him over the top of their car, holding up the small USB drive that the gallery's chief of security had given them. "You bet. Are we stopping anywhere in particular first?" he queried.  
Tobias nodded, glancing down at his phone and then back up at his partner. "That's the plan. We need to speak to someone who knew the victim and didn't tell us the whole truth about their relationship the last time we spoke. A certain red-haired woman, to be exact".  
"Karen Osbourne".  
Tobias nodded grimly, as both detectives got into the car and settled into the leather seats. Once both had done their seatbelts up properly, Tobias started the car, while Aaron keyed the address that they had on file for the victim, and her partner, into the car's GPS. "You know it. We both know she had no reason to want Jennifer dead, so she's not exactly a suspect, but I would like to know why she lied to us when she said that Jennifer wasn't seeing anyone".  
Aaron shrugged, nodding. "Let's go then".  
The drive to the apartment building where Karen lived was short, and the duo made the most of it, using the time to catch each other up on the events of the last couple of days. All too soon, Tobias was pulling into a parking lot just outside the building before stopping the car and undoing his seatbelt. "Alright, this is the place. Apartment 3A is Karen's".  
"I know. I memorized the file, same as you" Aaron replied calmly, his tone even.  
Tobias walked over to the building door and gave the handle a sharp pull, sighing when there was no movement. "Locked. Try the intercom panel, see if you have any luck".  
"You got it".  
Crossing to the small metal panel set into the wall just to the right of the door, Aaron quickly located the button for Apartment 3A. There was a sharp buzzing sound as he pressed it, and the next thing they heard was a familiar woman's voice. "Hello?"  
"Ms. Osbourne, it's Detectives Grace and Miles. Can we come up? We have some further questions about your roommate's murder that we'd like to ask you".  
There was a short pause before the woman responded. "Of course. I'll open the door for you, come right up".  
It was only a couple of minutes later that the two detectives were sitting opposite the red-haired young woman in a small, though tastefully decorated, living room. "What can I help you with, detectives?"  
Aaron leaned forward. "We spoke to Jason Gardner at his gallery, Ms. Osbourne. He told us that, contrary to what you said last time we asked you, Jennifer Reynolds was in a relationship. With a woman matching your description. Why didn't you tell us the truth before?" Tobias queried, his voice soft and gentle.  
Karen Osbourne looked surprised. "But we weren't seeing each other, detectives".  
"Karen. Please, stop lying to us".  
"I swear I'm not lying".  
Karen sighed, brushing tears from her eyes. "We weren't seeing each other. The term 'seeing someone' refers to the early stage of the relationship. We were past that stage. We passed it months ago, in fact. Three days ago, Jennifer proposed to me, and I said yes. We were engaged. We were engaged and in love and then some sick, twisted, person took her life, took the girl of my dreams, the woman I love (and still do love, because I refuse to use the past tense to refer to her) from me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the whole truth earlier, but I… I just couldn't process this. I'm still not fully processing it, to be honest. I don't know if I'll ever be able to. Now, is that all?"  
Tobias shook his head, leaning forward. "Not quite. Were you aware that Jason Gardner and your fiancée were working together to obtain proof of art forgery to bring to the police?"  
The red-haired woman blinked in surprise. "No, I had no idea. I knew that she was helping him with something, but I would never have guessed that that was what they were working on. Jennifer's always been a firm believer in going to the police as soon as she had proof of something, sometimes even when she just suspected it. That was certainly a habit that didn't make her any friends at the local police precincts".  
Tobias laughed quietly. "I can imagine. And if you don't mind, would you please tell us exactly what happened last night, starting from when your fiancée left work?"  
"If you think that I had anything to do with the death of the girl I loved, detective, then you're on the wrong track".  
"We don't think you did, Karen. We're just trying to put together a timeline of the events surrounding her death, that's all".  
The red-haired woman nodded. "There's not much I can tell you that you don't already know, honestly. Jennifer and I were supposed to finish work at 11:30 last night, but she left an hour earlier to run an errand (which I now know was for Jason Gardner) and I agreed to cover for her. The rest of the shift was relatively quiet, and I was able to leave without a problem when 11:30 came. I took a taxi to Tivondra, where I stayed until closing time at 3 this morning, and then I took a taxi home. I got home just after 3:15 this morning, as the security cameras would have shown, and then I came straight up here and went to bed. When I woke up about 30 minutes before you called me this morning and Jenn still wasn't in bed, I figured that she'd just spent the night running errands or something and fallen asleep on the couch, since she's done that before. I guess I was wrong though".  
Tobias nodded solemnly. "I guess so. Did your fiancée seem odd, emotionally-speaking, when she left work last night?"  
"I'm not sure I understand the question".  
"Did she seem unusually stressed, anxious, worried, or concerned about anything when she left?" Aaron asked gently, clarifying Tobias's question.  
"Now that I think about it, yes. She did seem unusually stressed last night, I asked her what was wrong, but she just shrugged it off as a combination of wedding research/planning and the long shifts we've been working, and said that she'd be fine once she had a chance to rest. I thought she was telling me the truth, given how busy work's been for us lately (especially the last couple of days), but I suppose there was just more to it than she was letting on".  
"I suppose so. One more question. Have you ever heard of the Libra Killer?"  
She blinked in surprise. "The contract killer who's one of the most wanted serial killers in the country. Yes, of course I've heard of him. He's the one that did this?"  
Aaron nodded. "We found his signature next to her body. We're still trying to work out who hired him to kill her, but we're slightly closer than we were last time we spoke. And… I know this is hard for you, and we can get a warrant if that's what you'd prefer, but we're going to need access to financial records and phone records for both you and Jennifer. We don't believe you had anything to do with her murder, nor do we believe that your fiancée put a contract on herself (obviously), but our captain and the D.A will want to be sure".  
The woman sitting across from the two detectives paused for a couple of minutes to digest what she'd just been told before finally nodding. "Of course, detectives. Whatever you need. Anything to help track down the son of a bitch who did this and put them away for good".  
"We may have to hold you to that in the future. Thank you for your time, Miss Osbourne. We'll be in touch if we find anything".  
The woman nodded. "That's all I ask, detectives. Good luck".  
As both detectives stood and left the apartment, Tobias spotted a younger red-haired woman coming up the stairs. He nudged his partner, indicating the woman. "Monica Osbourne?" Aaron queried.  
The woman looked up in surprise. She smiled warmly as her eyes met Tobias's, and then widened in confusion as she registered the fact that the two detectives were standing outside her sister's apartment. "Detectives Grace and Miles? Well this is certainly a surprise. What's going on? Is Karen okay?"  
"Your sister's fine. We were talking to her about a case we're working on" Tobias said simply.  
Monica frowned. "She's not involved in whatever you suspect her of, detectives. My sister is a good person".  
"We just had a couple of questions for her regarding the victim, who we've learned was your sister's fiancée" Tobias clarified.  
Monica blinked in surprise. "Jennifer's dead? I'm sorry to hear that. She and my sister were a cute couple".  
"What makes you assume that she's dead?" Aaron asked.  
The younger red-haired girl stared at him in disbelief. "I put two and two together. You're homicide detectives. You investigate deaths. The fact that you said the victim 'was' Karen's fiancée. Was is past tense, meaning that she's either no longer alive, or that she's still alive but no longer engaged to my sister. Since they loved each other more than anything or anyone else in the world, and thus were incredibly unlikely to call off their engagement or break up, the only option that makes sense is that one of them is dead. Since you're both investigating, it's obviously a murder and not an accident, and you said that my sister was fine, which means the only remaining option is that Jennifer Reynolds, my sister's fiancée, is dead".  
Tobias laughed as his partner shrugged. "Makes sense".  
Leaning against the wall, Tobias turned to his partner. "Aaron, could you give us a minute? Call Ruby and ask her to look through the database for any other similar cases to this one. Have her flag any and all Libra cases as well as any recent cases of art forgery, okay? I'll meet you down at the car"  
"You just want to be alone with your girlfriend" Aaron smirked teasingly.  
Tobias rolled his eyes. "What are you, five? Just get it done".  
His partner nodded. "No problem, I'll see you down there".  
Monica stepped aside, allowing the detective to move past her and down the stairs, before sinking down onto the floor next to where Tobias was sitting. After a couple of seconds, she looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Did he just refer to me as your girlfriend?" she queried.  
Tobias sank to the floor next to her. "He did. I know we haven't made anything official yet (hell, we haven't even had our first date yet, unless you count the drinks we got last night) and we have no idea how things are going to work out, but I actually really liked the sound of calling you my girlfriend".  
Monica smiled warmly at him, pressing a light kiss to his cheek and squeezing his hand. "I liked the sound of it too. How about we go along with it for now, see how tomorrow night goes, and then go from there?" she suggested.  
"I think that sounds like a plan".  
"Good".  
Monica sighed softly. "The next few weeks are going to be really rough for Karen, aren't they?" she queried.  
"That's an understatement. She's just lost someone she loved more than anything, Monica. She's going to be mourning this for a long time. It'll get easier as time goes by, of course, but the pain and grief never really go away".  
His girlfriend nodded solemnly. "I was afraid of that. Is there anything I can do to help her?"  
"Just be there for your sister right now. Once my team and I solve the case and can give her that closure, that satisfaction of knowing who was responsible for Jennifer's death, then she'll be able to start to heal".  
"I can do that".  
Tobias nodded, standing. "Good. Hopefully we'll have this case solved by tomorrow".  
His red-haired girlfriend shrugged. "Well, if not we can always reschedule dinner. It'd be a shame, especially since I don't think Forbidden Planet is playing any other night, but we'll manage. Give me a call when you know what's going on, alright? We can just go from there".  
"Sounds good".  
The detective stood and helped his girlfriend to her feet, watching as she walked down the hallway and knocked on her sister's door. As if she could feel him watching her, she looked up, smiling warmly at him and giving him a little wave. He waved back, making a 'call you later' gesture with one hand, before turning and walking down the stairs.  
As he re-joined Aaron outside the building, his partner pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen before slipping it away again. "Did you talk to Ruby like I asked?" Tobias queried.  
His darker-haired partner nodded. "Of course, I did. She said she'll let us know if she finds anything".  
Both men quickly buckled their seatbelts and Tobias started the car. "Let's head back to the Precinct then".  
Approximately forty-five minutes later, they were stepping out of the elevator onto the Homicide floor of the Precinct. As they came down the hallway that led into the bullpen, Tobias noticed a small group of men and women standing on the other side of the room, studying the whiteboard that they had set up (which they called the murder-board). "Excuse me?" Tobias queried as Aaron slipped into the chair by his desk.  
The closest of the five turned, nodding as he saw them. "Detective Miles and Grace, I assume?"  
He was tall and stern-looking, with pale skin, short black hair and light, icy, blue eyes. He was wearing a black suit jacket and pants over a black striped shirt with a white tie and was obviously the man in charge of the small group.  
Tobias nodded warily. "That's us. And you are?"  
"I'm Supervisory Special Agent and Team Leader Caleb Chance, FBI".  
He gestured to the young woman beside him. She was maybe a couple of months older than Tobias himself and she was tall, with light golden-brown skin, hazel eyes, and close-cropped brownish black hair with burgundy streaks. She was wearing a light blue shirt under a black jacket, black jeans, and low-heeled shoes. As Agent Chance indicated her, she stepped forward, nodding politely, and held out her hand to shake Tobias's. "Senior Special Agent Bianca Velasco, the team media liaison and lead hostage negotiator. I'm Agent Chance's second in command. It's good to meet you".  
Her voice had a slight accent to it. Tobias couldn't make out quite what it was, but it was interesting. Something he hadn't heard in a while. He nodded, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you too".  
As she nodded before walking back to the desk that separated them from the murder-board, the lead agent nodded to the woman on his other side. She was tall (slightly taller than Agent Velasco) with pale skin, shoulder-length black hair, and piercing green eyes, and was wearing a black one-piece jumpsuit with a white jacket, with plain black trainers. "Senior Special Agent Savannah Hayes. Lead profiler. Nice to meet you".  
"Nice to meet you too".  
As Tobias spoke, the newly introduced agent shook his outstretched hand, before nodding to the two remaining agents. Both were male and appeared to be in their early thirties. One had well-tanned skin with blonde hair and brown eyes wearing blue jeans and a white shirt under a black jacket and black trainers, the other was pale skinned with brown hair and eyes who was wearing very similar clothing. "These two are Special Agents Harry Marshall and Carl Short. Harry Marshall is our historian and art expert and Carl Short is a former sniper in Iraq and now a profiler like me" Savannah Hayes said simply.  
"Are there any more of your team? I know the FBI prefers to work in large groups" Aaron queried from where he was sitting.  
Carl Short, the more pale-skinned of the two agents they'd just been introduced to, nodded. "There are. We have two other profilers and a tech expert, who are currently setting up a command centre in the conference room. If that's alright".  
Tobias nodded. "Of course. Probably the best place for you to establish a command centre. If you don't mind me asking though, what brings the FBI to this Precinct?"  
"When Detective Heat was searching for recent art forgery cases, it pinged something in our database. We've been trying to track down an art forgery ring operating in New York for the past few months, but we haven't quite had any luck. Then we got another ping when she was searching for the recent Libra killings, realized that your team might be working on a case that ties into the major one we've been working, and came out here to help right away".  
"What do you want in exchange for your help? We've dealt with the FBI before, and those dealings have been… messy at best"  
"We want the leaders of the art forgery ring. You can have the rest of their people as well as the Libra Killer" Agent Chance replied.  
Tobias could see Agent Velasco look quickly at Agent Hayes behind their team leader's head. It was an extremely brief look, and her eyes flicked back before there was any chance of the other woman's eyes meeting hers, but (unless Tobias was wrong) there was something in that brief glance that implied more than just friendship, at least on the brown-haired Agent's part. Tobias nodded, shaking Agent Chance's hand. "You have a deal". 

* * *

**Songs for the chapter are:**

 **You Found Me, by The Fray  
Man on the Moon, by R.E.M  
**


End file.
